Judith Keim is one of those authors that you can always depend on to give you a great story with fantastic characters. I'm excited to know that she is writing a new series and after reading book 1 in the series, I can't wait to read the rest of the books.

Alec Thurston owns a hotel in Palm Desert California. When he found out he was dying of cancer, he made plans to sell his hotel to a large hotel chain but wanted to make sure that they didn't make changes that would diminish the history of the inn so he calls on three women that he has loved in the past to help. He wants to make sure that there is a smooth transition while ensuring the new owners will maintain the reputation and image of the upscale property after the sale. He asks Rose, Lilly and Willow to help him and pairs each of them with a person on the hotel's team. He gives them the nickname of the desert flowers and knows that he can depend on their expertise to help.

Book one in the series is Rose's story. She had lived with Alec for 12 years and she still loves him after many years apart. She has marketing expertise and owns a very successful lifestyle blog. He pairs her with Hank on the hotel team and assigns her to work on the transfer of the hotel. She doesn't like Frank at first - he's an ex-sports figure and uses sports analogies to explain everything. Once she gets to know him better, she thinks he has the potential to be more than a work colleague. Her hopes are dashed when she meets his daughter who is totally opposed and very vocal about her father getting involved with another woman after her mother's death. Can Rose and Hank overcome the daughter's negativity and is there a chance that they can find love?

Rose is a strong independent woman who knows what she wants out of life and works to meet her personal goals. She was a great character and I thought it was wonderful to have a main character in her 50s who was still working hard to make her dreams come true. I can't wait to read the rest of the books in this series. Based on earlier books by this author, I know that they will all be strong woman who face challenges and find love on their life journeys. ( )